Data Axle Frequently Asked Questions

Set Up

Is there a recommended browser for using Data Axle?

Chrome is the recommended browser for data-axle.com. However, the following browsers can also be used:

Internet Explorer 11 or greater

Safari

Firefox

How do I set up new accounts for people in my organization?

New accounts can easily be provisioned for you. Send your Account Manager the first name, last name, and email address of persons needing access.

We need to move our API connection to another machine. Will you need to whitelist our new IP address?

No, we do not need to whitelist your machine. We accept requests from anywhere in the world.

If I am using more than one API, do I need a separate auth token for each?

No, each user only needs one auth token for all services.

Docs

How can I get descriptions for the list of fields in my contract?

You can download a list of fields and their descriptions at the Data Dictionary.

How can I get field mappings for coded values in the data?

Lookup tables can be used to find all mappings. The link to the various lookup tables can be found under Lookups. Some attributes have their own lookup table, such as CBSA Codes, where other attributes with a shorter list of mappings can be found in the Attribute Mappings lookup table.

What are display restrictions?

For customers who display the Infogroup data online or in their products, display restrictions specify what can be displayed and what cannot.

What does a deprecation date in the lookups mean?

A deprecation date indicates that the value in the lookup table has been retired and is no longer used.

Feedback UI

How do I request that a listing be suppressed from the database?

Use a record level note to indicate that the business has requested suppression. Our data associates will need to get confirmation from the business of this request.

If I accidentally hit submit and need to add or update more information, can I cancel or go back into the submission?

No. If you need to add or update more information, create another submission.

If a record is not listed as in business and I suggest changes, do I need to also specify that the business should be changed to in business?

No. If you submit changes to a record that is not listed as in business, our data associates will attempt to verify your changes. If they are able to verify the listing as in business, they will change the record accordingly.

I can’t find an infogroup_id that I know is in your database because I received it in my deliveries. What should I do?

Certain records are hidden in the feedback UI because they have been suppressed for some reason. If you cannot find the record you’re looking for, suggest adding it to our database. All new record suggestions are matched to our database, so if we already have the record, we will match it and update the existing record.

How will I know that my submission has been processed?

When your submissions are complete, you will see the results column for the submission change from “processing” to a series of 3 numbers. The first number in green represents the number of accepted changes. The middle number in orange represents the number of attributes or fields where no action was taken. The last number in red represents the number of rejected suggestions.

Why am I unable to see older submissions I have made?

The Results page only shows submissions for 90 days. If you need to save a copy of submissions, make sure you download them within the 90 day window.

Deliveries

Are Data Axle files compressed?

Yes, all Data Axle are compressed using gzip. No other compression options are available.

Are the files reviewed to ensure file and data integrity?

Yes, the files themselves are checked for integrity and assigned an MD5 hash, which is returned in the API response for each file. There is also an automated quality system in Data Axle that reviews each delivery and looks to make sure that the file includes all attributes selected, fill rates correspond to global database fills, and more. In addition to this, we have a fulfillment team that manually checks every delivery for quality.

Our feed is broken into several files. How are these files segmented?

Large feeds are split into smaller, manageable files with a numeric suffix. Each file maxes out to about a million records.

In what order should I import the Snapshot files?

Once you download all files for your Snapshot, import each file in no particular order into your database to create your combined Snapshot of your subscription.

What time of the day are Incremental Files generated?

What if Incremental Files fail to generate at the specified time?

Generation of Incremental Files is automatic. If for some reason an Incremental File fails to generate, the system will attempt to re-generate the file every 2 hours until the file is successfully generated.

In what order should I import the Incremental Files?

If you miss consuming one or more generations of the Incremental Files, the files should be imported in chronological order to ensure that you end up with the most current data.

It takes multiple days for us to process the monthly file. What do you recommend for processing the monthly file in relation to the Daily Incremental Files we receive during this time?

Monthly Files are always generated between the 1st and 5th of each month. We recommend processing the monthly file as soon as it is available and then catch up with the Daily Incremental Files. For example, if the monthly file is generated on the 2nd of the month and takes you 3 days to process, we then recommend applying Daily Incremental Files from the 2nd through 5th.

How can I find the list of signals used in my Incremental Files?

When you call the API for details about a specific subscription, the response includes the list of attributes being delivered and the list of attributes used to signal updates.

For Incremental Files, is there a way to see the date range corresponding to the data?

Yes, a "begin" and "end" date is delivered with each Incremental File delivery in the API response.

Delivery API

How can I tell that a new delivery is available using the API?

In the API response, each delivery is assigned a batch ID and creation time. Used in combination, these can help you identify a new delivery.

How often should I look for new files?

It depends on the frequency of your deliveries. Monthly files are typically available between the 1st and the 5th of each month. Weekly files generate every Monday at midnight UTC. Daily files generate every night at midnight UTC. In general, you should check for new files at most once per hour.

We are able to call the API and return the URLs to the files in S3. However, we are getting an error when trying to download the files. What are we doing wrong?

If using the command line, wrap any URLs in quotes. If you don't, the bash shell will interpret the "&" characters in the URL as shell characters to background a job and not send the entire URL to the curl command.

We are able to download some of the files from S3, but get an error when trying to download the rest of them. What do we need to do to successfully download all of the files?

The File Delivery API creates "signed" URLs that only last an hour. If the URLs expire before you download all the files, then you simply need to call the API endpoint again to get new URLs.

Scan API

What is the difference between the Scan API and Search API?

The Search API returns a maximum of 100 records per request while the Scan API allows you to scroll through all records that meet your criteria.

Does the ordering of my filters matter?

Are API requests case sensitive?

Does the API support wild cards?

You can implement wild card searching on your end by programming your search to recognize a specific wild card and use prefix searching in your request.

Why aren’t all records that match my search criteria returned?

The Search API is limited to 100 records per request. You can use offsets to return the next 100 records and so on. If you regularly need to return large sets of records, talk to your Account Manager about using the Scan API.

Why do I see different records if I make the same request at a later time?

Because Data Axle is a real-time platform, the results of your search will change as records are updated in our database. You may see records added or removed from future responses. In addition, when the same records are returned, they may be returned in a different order. This is because results are by default, sorted by recency (the time the record was last updated). You can change this behavior by applying a sort parameter to your request.

Submission API

Should I use the Feedback UI or Submission API to send suggested changes?

It depends on your use case and volume of suggestions. The Feedback UI requires someone to log in and manually suggest changes. The Submission API should be used for a more automated approach and for large volumes.

What is the typical response time for a Submission API request?

The initial response indicating success or failure of the submission should be within 1 second. From there, the submission is routed to our data associates who typically resolve submissions within 24-48 hours.

How often should I poll the Results API to see if there has been any response?

If sending many submissions through a bulk request, you should allow 24-48 hours before polling the results API. If you plan to send submissions one at a time (for example, if you send a new submission every 5 minutes), you should poll the results API anywhere from once per day to as frequently as you’re sending submissions (for example, every 5 minutes) depending on how frequently you need the results back (accounting for the initial 24-48 hour delay, of course).

Is there a limit to the number of submissions that can be made through the API?

The API limits you to 60 submissions per 10 seconds. If you go above that, your submissions will be blocked until the 10 seconds are up.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions within the bulk request endpoint?

Yes, but it depends on how big each submission is. We recommend 100 submissions per bulk request.

Does the API support submissions to correct duplicate listings? If so, how?

Yes, the API supports submissions to correct duplicates. This can be done by suggesting a value in the duplicate_of attribute or by commenting on the infogroup_id.

What is the latency between the response and the availability of the updated record in deliveries? Is there a cutoff date for accepted changes to appear in files?

There is no latency between when a record is updated and when it can be delivered through files. Changes only need to be applied before the delivery begins generating.